toy box

LA to TJ Mobile Conference: Connecting Goods, People, Idea

We had an opportunity to attend LA to TJ Mobile Conference organized by Colors of Green Committee and Latino Urban Forum. The conference was hosted in a very unique style. We took a train from Union Station in Downtown LA to Santa Fe Depot in San Diego. Along the way, train passed multiple spots that are either controversial and/or influential to LA region's economy and wellness including LA River, 710 Freeway and Irvine great Park Site. Each speaker spoke briefly about key topics such as air quality, health, housing, open space, transportation while train passed by the area relevant to those topics. Our organizer James Rojas put it in the perfect sentence. "Our slide show is the view from the train".

Listening to the speaker on the train

Few interesting points we learned from the conference.

Ready for being fashionably anti-car?

Los Angeles MTA (metro) ridership is hitting the record highest while the infamous LA traffic is starting to show the decline in congestion (link to LA Times). It might be the beginning of LA consumers' mindset change from heavily car dependent to fashionably anti-car. For those of you who are ready to make the shift, we came across perfect bicycle basket carrie that could also be used as a shopping basket at the grocery store. Who wouldn't be tempted to pull out the old bicycle from the garage when we have such a whimsical accessory? 

Household Hazardous Waste & E-waste @ Pasadena Rose Bowl

We dropped off our out-of-life Epson printer at Hazardous Waste Collection held at Rose Bowl on Saturday. (link to previous post). It was impressive to see how organized the process was and how easy and accessible it was for residents. It might have been one of the best public service we have ever encountered living in LA for last 13 years. (link to more photos)
Guys in white suits came to pick up the items from our trunk. We were not allowed to step out of the car.
Everything was very organized and we were able to drive-through in 5 minutes.
He was the one who got our Epson printer out of the trunk. Thank you!
 

Now there is a way 3: Household Hazardous Waste & E-waste

For people who are around Pasadena, there will be a HHW (Household Hazardous Waste) collection at Rosebowl this coming Saturday hosted by County of LA Department of Public Works. Their online calendar shows dates/location for other collection throughout LA. We're bringing our old Epson printer and other cleaning products which we have replaced with cleaner items.

Stuff they will collect:
- Old batteries
- Flourescent light bulbs
- Out of life electronic devices
- Mercury thermostats
- The chemical-based household products: cleaning, painting, beautifying, lubricating and disinfecting the house, yard, workshop and garage

Here is an address to this Saturday's collection at Rose Bowl.
Location: The Rose Bowl, Parking Lot "K", 1001 Rose Bowl Blvd., Pasadena 91103

Dwell on Design: Sun Table

We saw this cool outdoor coffee table at Dwell on Design LA. Called Sun Table designed in Brooklyn, NY. The table top can be tilted in order to maximize the exposure to the direct sun light.  It takes 4 hours of sunny day to fully charge the table and gives 5~6 hours of laptop usage. It works great as a table too. I saw a guy jumping on top of the table to show the stability and it looked pretty sturdy. Object like this helps us to harvest our own energy needs w/o completely changing the lifestyle. Also it provids convenience of "ready-to-plug" feature to the areas where there is no outlet (like your yard). Great idea.

Sumo: Japanese wrestling

We went to see Grand Sumo (Japanese wrestling) Tournament at LA Memorial Arena last night. Not only Sumo is an exciting sport to watch but also is composed of amazing rituals that have been kept untouched for centuries. A lot of rituals are there to ensure Sumo wrestlers' well being while they compete through the seasons (Each season lasts 14 days). You can watch the video of the introduction of Sumo here. Though it was my first time watching the game in LIVE, we've grown up watching them on TV while we lived in Japan. It's a lot like football here in US. Everyone in Japan watches the game.  I have to say it was a very surreal experience to be surrounded by the sounds which I remember very deep in my head and to know how rooted these memories are in what makes us who we are.

These cultural events hosted in the city are big draws for non-Japanese people who are interested in exotic events creating bridges between cultural differences; meanwhile, a great opportunity for Japanese community to come together and be reminded of how connected we're to where we're from.
opening ceremony
wrestlers stretching before they enter the arena. They are about 300lbs and above!!

Imagining a Sustainable Downtown LA through Model- building

If you want to see how it feels to "design" the urban city, check out this event this weekend happening in LA downtown.

"Imagining Downtown LA is an interactive public project inviting participants to imagine, and develop innovative land use and transportation elements in a model form based on their personal experiences. Participants will be provided with a medley of recycled materials, and invited to create their ideal urban form on an oversized plot of Downtown"

Location 7th & Figueroa Shopping Center Contact: James Rojas (626)437-4446
 

Location: 7th and Figueroa Shopping Center
For Further information. Contact James Rojas (626) 437-4446

Cal Tech Recycle Center

If you are interested in taking "recycling" little more seriously... Cal Tech Recycle Center (Del Mar and Wilson in Pasadena) is a great place to get started. You can recycle all plastic in categories, papers, and aluminum...etc. It definitely makes you think twice about what you buy and throw away.

Free lecture in Biomimicry in Design

If you're in LA next week!

Furniture, product and interior designer Ilan Dei's A.N.T. Gallery (that's Art, Nature, Technology) is going to start holding forum events. The L.A.-based gallery is kicking it off with one we're dying to attend--"Biomimicry and Structural Design: Innovation Inspired by Nature," where boatbuilder and oceanography professor Mike Leneman reveals the nature-based inspirations for his multi-hull boats.

The event is on May 7th. There will be booze and music, and A.N.T. is charging our favorite price: $0. The website's not been updated yet, so details are below.

"Bio-mimicry and Structural Design" lecture
@
A.N.T. Gallery Presented by Ilan Dei Studio
2100 Zeno Place
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 302-9222

RSVP at info@ilandeistudio.com

FREE and open to the public

via: Core77.com

ForYourArt LA

This might be a great reference for all Los Angelenos who love art, cultures and design.
Audrey: How's format like this website?